Deion Sanders on Massive Colorado Roster Overhaul: 'I Don't Care About Culture'

Deion Sanders overhauled nearly his entire roster when he was hired as head coach of the Colorado Buffaloes ahead of the 2023 season, and that has led to questions about what the team's culture will be like as it aims to rebound from a 1-11 finish to the 2022 campaign.

Sanders was blunt when he addressed culture while speaking with reporters this week.

"I'm not welcoming to that word, culture," Sanders said. "That's all I heard when I was in Jackson. Culture, culture, culture, culture, culture. Now culture, culture. What the heck does that mean?"

He added: "I don't care about culture. I don't care. I don't care if they like each other, man. I want to win. I've been on some teams where the quarterback didn't like the receiver, but they darn sure made harmony when the ball was snapped."

Colorado enters 2023 with just 10 scholarship players from 2022 on its roster. The Buffaloes brought in 86 new players between high school and the transfer portal, including nine players who followed Sanders from Jackson State to Colorado, led by his son, quarterback Shedeur Sanders.

The Buffaloes have the most incoming players to an FBS roster since the transfer portal was established five years ago, according to ESPN Stats and Information. They have 53 transfers in total, including nearly 24 players that joined the team since the end of spring practice.

Sanders had been vocal about his interest in rebuilding the entire Colorado roster since his hiring in December. When he first met with the team, he even encouraged players to enter their names into the portal, and more than 50 took his advice and did so.

"I'm coming, and when I get here, it's gonna be change," Sanders told the team in December, per BuffZone. "So, I want you all to get ready to go ahead and jump in the [transfer] portal and do whatever you're gonna get, because the more of you jump in, the room you make. We're bringing kids that are smart, tough, fast, disciplined with character. That's the ones we're gonna get. Is that you?"

Colorado athletic director Rick George told ESPN's Heather Dinich in May that he fully supported Sanders' overhaul of the roster and expressed confidence that the team will rebound from a disastrous 2022 campaign under the former Jackson State head coach and Pro Football Hall of Famer.

"I have confidence in him and his staff and they know what they're doing," George said. "... He's been very honest and forthright. He's been very open about it publicly and privately. He's trying to build a winner at Colorado, and this is his way to do it."

Colorado opens the 2023 season on Saturday against TCU, which reached the national championship game last season behind quarterback Max Duggan before falling to Stetson Bennett and the Georgia Bulldogs.

The Buffaloes are looking to exit the Pac-12 on a high note before re-joining the Big 12 in 2024, and they'll surely be under a microscope in Sanders' first season at the helm.